Redd and Sun
by Mystic83
Summary: A Greenwich Lodging House story... The story of have Sun Keller first met her soulmate, Redd Capulet. This is a prequel to "Finding The One".


pIllyana Keller sat on the deck of the Anastasia. She was on her way to the 'New World'. She never would have dreamt that she would ever leave the hustle and bustle of big city life in London, England.  
  
p"But there's nothing left for me in London anymore," she whispered to herself looking out the porthole at the miles and miles of ocean. It made her feel like she was very much alone in this world.  
  
pA month before she had found herself sailing across the Atlantic Ocean, she had lived in a moderately large apartment with her family. Mama and Papa, little Matthew and her older sister Conner. They were the picture perfect family. The last time any of them had fought was when Illyana was four and that was only because Mr. Keller refused to let the little girl out of the house. He was very protective over her and felt like she was too small to venture out into the big city.  
  
p"But all that's gone now..."  
  
p"SHUT UP!" came a yell from above her. The person in the top bunk must have been the lightest sleeper in the world to be bothered by Illyana's whispers.  
  
p"What will my neighbors do when they get woken up by my sobs?" Illyana thought. She had cried herself to sleep every night since the fire.  
  
pHer parents, Matthew, and Conner had all died when Matthew accidentally knocked over a lantern in their apartment. The fire had a life of its own and spread throughout the building in minutes. Mr. Keller saved his precious Illyana and ran back in to help the rest of his family. Neither he nor any other of the Kellers made it out again. Illyana watched as the whole apartment building burnt to the ground.  
  
pThe London police stuck her immediately into an orphanage. Being raised in such a loving family did not help Illyana's situation. All of the other children in the orphanage had such troubled backgrounds that she couldn't seem to fit in with any of them. The kids immediately began to terrorize her. She'd been in the orphanage for only an hour and already most of her stuff had been stolen.  
  
pShe knew she couldn't stay there so she told the orphanage caretaker she was going for a walk. Using the little bit of money that she had in her pocket when her father rescued her from the fire, she bought passage to wherever the boat with the cheapest fare was going.  
  
pAmerica.  
  
pIllyana started imagining the flames of the fire as they ate away at the only home she had ever had. She once again heard the screams of the people trapped inside and trying to be as quiet as possible, she cried herself to sleep.  
  
pp align=center~*~  
  
pThe next morning, Illyana awoke with a start. She heard the sounds of hundreds of people, but that couldn't be possible. She was on a boat thousands of miles away from any sort of other human life.  
  
pRushing to put on something presentable, she scrambled through the bunkroom, up the stairs and out on deck. When she had reached the fresh air, she took in what was going on. The Anastasia must have pulled into an American port while everyone was sleeping. Illyana had finally reached her destination.  
  
pShe ran back below deck and gathered her things. Before she knew it, she was in the bustle of New York City.  
  
pThe very first thing she did was run smack into a young boy who was looking at the slightly large English ship.  
  
pHe was rather on the short side and had a tangle of red hair on his head. He looked like a true street urchin. When Illyana had run into him, he had spilled whatever he was holding. Taking a closer look, she realized he had about fifty newspapers in his hand. She grabbed a handful as he started murmuring curse words at her.  
  
p"Hey! Where ya goin'?" the newsboy called as Illyana started to walk down the street, newspapers in her hand.  
  
pNot knowing what this dirty boy wished to do with her, she began to run. To her horror, he was chasing her. Illyana didn't think. She just ran and twisted and turned down the street corners.  
  
pBefore long, she realized that the boy was nowhere to be seen. She had completely lost him.  
  
p"Thank gosh," she said out loud, happy that the city was so noisy she could finally talk at normal volume and not be shushed. "Now what? I'm completely lost and I have nowhere to actually go to."  
  
pIllyana tried to assess the situation. She was in a strange city that was just as big as her hometown of London. She had about enough money to possibly get her through the night. She had no job and no family in this new country.  
  
p"You look hungry? Want a hot dog?" a mysterious voice said from behind her.  
  
pIllyana turned around to find herself face to face with the newsboy she had just run away from.  
  
p"Don't hurt me," she cried in despair.  
  
pThe newsboy chuckled. "Why would I hurt you? I don't even know you." He paused for a moment, then spit in his hand and thrust it at her. "Name's Shawn Capulet, but you can call me Redd."  
  
pIllyana just stared at him.  
  
p"You're not from around her are you?" he asked.  
  
p"I grew up in London, England. This is my first day in America. Is it that obvious?"  
  
p"No, actually. I just figured you were because you have an accent. Though that doesn't make you completely new to this city, considering how many people live in this city who can't even speak english, let alone speak english with an accent. Sorry, I'm babbling. I didn't catch your name."  
  
p"I didn't tell you my name."  
  
p"No. I should just call you thief for what you did to me." Redd pointed to the stack of papers still in her hand.  
  
p"What? I didn't do anything. I just wanted to read the news."  
  
p"I don't know how it is wherever you come from but in America, we pay for our papers."  
  
p"Do you mean to tell me every one of these papers are yours? Why do you need so many?"  
  
p"Because I'm selling them," Redd explained. He saw the confused look on Illyana's face and realized she had no idea why he was selling papers. "I buy the papers to sell them. I'm a newsboy."  
  
p"Newsboy?"  
  
p"Yes, a newsboy. We work for the newspaper giants. We buy papes for 50 cents a hundred and sell them for a cent each. That way the papers get sold and we make money. Get it now?"  
  
p"Yeah, I guess," Sun replied.  
  
p"So, where are you staying?" Redd asked.  
  
p"I don't know. I'm not really familiar with the city. I don't even know if I have enough money to pay to sleep somewhere."  
  
p"I know a place you could sleep for next to nothing," Redd said, offering help to her.  
  
p"I do not know what kind of girl you think I am, but I am not going to sleep--"  
  
pRedd cut her off. "That's not what I was saying. Us newsboys sleep in a lodging house. We pay five cents and we get a place to stay. It's run by a really great guy named Dr. Stephen Giovanni, but everyone just calls him Doc. I'm sure the few newsgirls who stay with us would love to take an interest in you. They adore lost causes," Redd said, as he messed up Illyana's hair. "Sure you don't want me to know your name?"  
  
p"No one needs to know my name. The name I had back in England died when I lost my family. I'm not the same person so I refuse to use the same name."  
  
p"Hurts to much, huh? What happened?"  
  
p"I'm not about to tell you what happened in my personal life. You're a stranger."  
  
p"No, I'm not. You know me. I'm Redd Capulet, Greenwich newsboy," Redd said as he dragged Illyana down the street to her new home.  
  
pIt was quite a long walk from the docks to their destination in Greenwich Village. On their way there, Redd began to tell Illyana the stories of how some of the Greenwich newsboys and newsgirls found themselves in the newspaper business.  
  
pIllyana just walked beside Redd silently, listening to all the stories and wondering why this complete stranger was being so nice to her. "I guess he's not a complete stranger," she thought to herself. "I mean, I do know his name and where he lives. He's told me how he became a newsie. I guess that means I can trust him." She paused in her thoughts to listen to Redd for a moment. He was talking about how the newsboys almost flooded the whole lodging house. "He sure is funny, though. And he can tell a story."  
  
pThe pair finally reached the Greenwich Lodging House a few minutes later. Sun barely even realized they were going inside because she was so wrapped up in the story Redd had been telling her.  
  
p"Well, look at that sunshine girl. Who've you got now, Redd?" called a girl with exceptionally long hair.  
  
p"What do you mean by sunshine girl?" Illyana asked.  
  
p"Well, Redd here has a tendency to have a lot of girls around him. You should see the way they beam when he's near them. So, we call all of Redd's female friends sunshine girls. And you, miss, are the sunniest girl I've ever seen."  
  
p"Spades Malone, this is... um... well, she won't tell me her name. She's one of those mysterious past people that we get a lot of around here."  
  
p"No problem, Redd. We'll just call you Sun, ok? Nice to meet ya," Spades said as she spit in her hand and held it out.  
  
p"What's with all the spitting?" Illyana asked.  
  
p"It's the newsies way of greeting one another," Redd explained. "You'll get used to it. Come on. Let's find you a bunk to sleep in."  
  
pRedd led Sun into the bunkroom. He pointed to an empty bunk near the front of the room. Smiling, he leaned against the bunk bed.  
  
p"This top bunk is my bunk. My last bunkmate just left for the Upper East side. His best friend lives there and he just didn't feel at home in Greenwich anymore. So, you can sleep in the bunk below. That way if you have any problems, I'm right above you. Do you have any stuff?"  
  
p"No, everything I had was burnt in the fire," Sun said as she stared out the window by her bunk.  
  
p"What fire?" Redd said, genuinely wanting to know more about Sun's background.  
  
p"No fire. Who said anything about a fire?" Sun said as she snapped back into it. "My family was never in a fire."  
  
p"So, your family was in a fire? Is that what happened? Your family died in a fire?" Redd said, firing out more questions.  
  
p"I told you I don't want to talk about my past."  
  
p"You're going to have to if you want to survive in this city. You need to know your weaknesses and I think that your past is a weakness for you. So, why don't you tell me, someone you trust, what's bothering you?"  
  
p"Who says I trust you?" Sun asked.  
  
p"You wouldn't have followed me here if you didn't trust me," Redd said, flashing Sun a smile. "Now tell me about what happened to your family. I think you'll find getting it out in the open will do you good."  
  
p"Fine. But you can't ask for anything more."  
  
p"Deal."  
  
p"Boy, where to start?" Sun thought. "I guess I'll begin with--"   
  
p"My family was one of the happiest that I had ever heard of. We never fought. We being my father, my mother, my little brother Matthew, and my older sister Conner. I guess that was part of our downfall. My parents didn't really scold us too much so my brother didn't know not to play around with the lanterns that were throughout our apartment. When none of us were watching, he accidentally knocked one over. Not knowing what to do, he ran out of the room. He was too small to realize that leaving the room will not make the problem disappear."  
  
p"So, he started the fire?" Redd asked.  
  
p"Yes. The fire spread so quickly throughout our apartment there was barely any warning. My father had barely any time to react. He grabbed me and rushed down the two flights of stairs. He sat me in front of the bakery across the street and said 'Don't you dare move, Illyana. I promise I will be back shortly with the rest of the family.' So I didn't move. I didn't even think that possibly I could help him. I sat on that curb for hours. My father had to come out because he promised and a Keller does not break a promise. I probably would have sat on that curb forever. My father told me not to move. When the fire department had finally doused the flames, a fire fighter realized I was sitting on the curb. He asked me a lot of questions but I refused to answer. I was just starting at the rubble waiting for my family to walk out of it and tell me that they were very proud of me for not moving."  
  
p"Wow. When did you decide to come over to America?"  
  
p"I'll get to that. Just hold on. A fire fighter finally dragged me from the apartment rubble and took me to the nearest police station. He was hoping that someone there would know what to do with me, I guess. The police sent me over to one of the local orphanage. I think they originally only meant for me to spend that first night there. But well, I wasn't their top priority so they sort of forgot they had sent me there. I knew I would become your average orphan. Too old to adopt, too young to make it on my own. So I made my the first self decision of my life. I decided to tell the orphanage caretaker that I needed some fresh air. The second I was on the street, I found the nearest port and booked passage on the cheapest ship. That ship brought me here and that's about where you came in."  
  
p"Illyana Keller, huh?" Redd said with a smirk.  
  
p"What?" Illyana said, rather confused.  
  
p"Your name. It's Illyana Keller. Guess you either trust me enough to tell me or you didn't realize that I'd be able to piece it together through your story."  
  
p"Don't you ever call me by that name!" Sun warned.  
  
p"Why? It's a pretty name. I like it. C'mon, 'Yana."  
  
p" 'Yana? No one's ever called me that. Illya, sure. Ana, yes. But, 'Yana? You're a strange boy. I guess you can call me 'Yana. That name holds no meaning to me. But never ever call me Illyana. That's only something that my father can do. Could do."  
  
pIllyana sighed and flung herself on her bed. She was exhausted from telling her "tragic" story. Looking around, she realized that the sun had set. "How long was I telling that story?" she thought to herself.  
  
p"A few hours," Redd answered.  
  
p"Did I say that out loud?" Sun asked.  
  
p"No, but I knew you were thinking it. It was the look in your eyes that told me you were just realizing how late it had gotten. Are you hungry? I could scrounge us up something to it in Doc's kitchen. I'm sure he wouldn't mind if you didn't pay for the food. He loves lost causes about as much as the newsgirls here."  
  
pThe couple went down to the kitchen and Redd started to heat up some soup that Doc had made for his lodgers the other night. Illyana began to stare off into space as she so frequently did.  
  
p"What are you thinking about?" Redd asked as he sat a bowl of piping-hot soup on the table in front of her.  
  
p"I'm wondering what I'm going to do now."  
  
p"I know exactly what you're going to do. You're going to eat your soup and then go upstairs and get some much deserved rest. Then, in the morning, you're going to come out selling papes with me. I'm going to teach you to be a newsie. How's that sound?"  
  
p"Sounds like a plan. Thanks, Redd. You've been a true friend to me even though you don't know me too well."  
  
p"I think I do know you rather well. You remind me of my sister."  
  
p"Your sister? Where is she? Can I meet her?" Sun questioned Redd.  
  
p"She's dead. I really don't want to get in to it."  
  
p"Oh come on. Don't be a hypocrite. I told you all about my past. The least you can do is give me the same courtesy."  
  
p"Okay. Her name was Pru, that's short for Prudence. Prudence Capulet. She was the prettiest girl you had ever seen. All the guys on the street were in love with her. She died on her sixteenth birthday. She went to the bakery to pick up a cake that we had saved up for. On her walk home, some of the local misfits were cat calling her and she seemed to get pretty scared. At least that's what I was told by the people who witnessed the accident. She was running away from them so hard that she didn't look to see where she was going. She ran in front of a horse and wagon and you can just guess the rest. She was my only family. I miss her like crazy."  
  
p"And I remind you of her?" Sun asked.  
  
p"Sure. You're just as pretty as her which would make you the prettiest girl I've ever seen. And you make me laugh. No one's really been able to do that since Pru died. I mean, your accent is just so strange."  
  
p"Would ya rather I talked in a New York accent?" Sun said, switching to the accent she had heard many of the people on the street talking in.  
  
p"You've already picked up the accent? Hmmm. Must be a hidden talent. I'm sure Doc would love to hear you can do that. He'd probably find some use for it that could make you a little money on the side while you're getting the hang of selling papers. He always helps out the newest newsies. It's really kinda hard to get the hang of it. Improvin' the headlines and all. It took me at least a week to realize how to reel in a customer."  
  
pRedd paused to look at Sun. That's when he realized that she wasn't paying any attention to him. In fact, she was sleeping. Smiling, he picked her up in his arms and carried upstairs. After setting her down in the bunk below, he climbed into his bunk and fell asleep.  
  
pp align=center~*~  
  
pSun awoke to odd noises all around. She hadn't realized it but she had gotten rather used to the sounds of a boat at sea. And this new place, the Greenwich Lodging House, was very different than a boat. First of all, there were people shouting everywhere and she could hear the sound of water running constantly. She was greeted by a young girl who was shouting right in her face.  
  
p" 'Ey new girl. Wake your sleepy butt up. There's no way you'll sell any papes by staying in bed."  
  
pIllyana found herself wanting for the first time since she was carried out of her London apartment by her father to cuss someone out. That was a good thing. It showed her that maybe she could form a life after the tragedy. She hadn't felt this mad since before the fire.  
  
p"I see you've met Demi," Redd said, walking over to Sun's bunk from across the room.  
  
p"It's short for Demeter," the loud girl informed Sun.  
  
p"Good to know," Sun answered still not quite woken up. "What am I supposed to do now that I'm awake?"  
  
p"Get dressed and get ready to start your first day as a newsie."  
  
pSun smiled and walked to the bathroom to splash water in her face. She was going to need every bit of it if she was going to wake up in time to actual listen when Redd began to teach her the ropes.  
  
pp align=center~*~  
  
pAbout fifteen minutes later, Sun was ready to go. She had originally grabbed her dress that she had worn the day before. But when Spades saw that she was going to wear such a nice dress to sell newspapers, she lent Sun one of her dresses.  
  
p"Ain't no way you'll sell any papes looking so nice," Spades informed her.  
  
pSun ran outside to find Redd waiting for her all alone.  
  
p"Where'd everyone else go?" Sun asked.  
  
p"You have to be much quicker than that if you want to be one of the first to get their papes. But don't worry. Today it doesn't matter what spot in line we have when we get our papes. I'm taking you to the easiest place to sell in the city. Central Park. If you can't sell there, you're not cut out to be a newsie."  
  
p"Great. I've always wanted to see Central Park," Sun exclaimed.  
  
p"Gee, someone woke up on the right sight of the world today."  
  
p"You were right. I feel so much better now that someone else knows what happened to me. I feel like I've started a whole new life. Like I'm a whole different person than I was in London."  
  
p"Well, you are. Here you're Sun. There you were Illyana Keller."  
  
p"Don't say my name!" Sun said, suddenly furious. "Never say that name again. I don't want to remember who I was."  
  
p"Guess we still have some things to work on. C'mon. Forget about it again and let's go sell some papes."  
  
pRedd dragged Sun across town all the way to Central Park. There he found a nice spot next to some benches and a hot dog vendor.  
  
p"This is the spot," he told Sun.  
  
p"What makes this spot so special?" she asked, not really seeing anything special about it.  
  
p"It's full of so many possibilities. Okay. Here's your first test as a newsie. What do you see?"  
  
p"I see a couple of benches with people sitting in them. A guy selling hot dogs which might I add is making me rather hungry. Um... there's a few businesses that you can see across the park."  
  
p"You're not thinking like a newsie yet. Wanna know what I see? I see opportunity. The people on the benches sit there because they're tired. Tired people don't want to move. They rather sit there and read the paper. I see people buying hot dogs and having change. They'll use that change to buy a paper. Those businesses across the way will be streaming with people going in and out during the lunch hour. Business men love to buy papers. You need to start seeing everything from the moment you buy your papes as a way to sell them. 'Cause I lent you ten cents but that's all I can spare. If you don't sell your twenty papes, you ain't eatin' and you ain't staying in the lodging house."  
  
pSun just stared up at Redd.  
  
p"Don't look so shocked. We've all had to spend a night or two on the streets. Happens to the best of us." He paused for a moment. "Doc won't throw you out right away though. You're new. That means you get about a week before you HAVE to pay for your bunk. Just try to get the hang of it."  
  
p"Do I just jump right in?" Sun asked.  
  
p"Not yet. I haven't even explained to you how to sell a pape. Most of the headlines you'll see in a paper aren't good enough. They won't sell you any papes. You need to take a headline and reword it. For example, there's a story on page ten about a little girl finding some broken bottles in the alley behind her house. She made wind charms out of them but the buyer doesn't need to know that. Now watch. YOUNG GIRL FINDS MURDER WEAPON IN HER HOME!!!!"  
  
pA business man and a few hot dog cart patrons bought some papers from Redd.   
  
p"Now you try," he insisted.  
  
p"GIRL ALMOST DIES WHEN SHE GETS STABBED BY BROKEN BOTTLE," Sun screamed.  
  
pOne little girl ran up and bought a paper for her father.  
  
p"That was pretty good for a first attempt but try to make it shorter. Like... STAB VICTIM IN THE BACK ALLEYS!!"  
  
pTwo more women bought papers. Redd gave them a charming young boy smile. One of the women changed her order to two papers.  
  
p"That's another thing," he said. "Always try to get the customer to buy more than one. If you have to look like you haven't eaten in days, do it. If you need to bate an eyelash, do it. Whatever it takes, because the only thing on the line is your dinner tonight. If you want to eat, sell like mad."  
  
pRedd walked a little down the road and called out more headlines. Sun thought for a second, then began to shout some headlines of her own.  
  
pp align=center~*~  
  
pRedd went back over to Sun only after the lunchtime rush was over. He was surprised to see her sitting on one of the benches talking to an old man. Quite confused, he made his way over to her and just stood next to her until she noticed his presence.  
  
p"Oh Redd! I was just talking to this nice man. He bought my last paper. He was just telling me that everyday he sits on this same bench," Sun said smiling at the old man.  
  
p"I like to watch people pass by. It's amazing what you can learn by just watching," the old man said to Redd.  
  
p"Really?" Redd said. Then, he turned his attention back to Sun. "Are you all finished selling?"  
  
p"Oh yeah. I must be a natural," Sun replied.  
  
p"No, you've just got two things going for you. You're a young girl and you're pretty. No one can resist that. I'll need to make sure you're a good newsie before you sell on your own. You need to have the talent or else when you get older, no one will buy papes from you. I think you do have some natural talent, though."  
  
p"Thanks," Sun said. "Where to now?"  
  
p"We're going to get us some lunch. There's a great little Italian restaurant right by the lodging house. I think you'll enjoy it. It's not too expensive. The guy who owns it cuts the newsies a deal. We give him a free paper everyday and he lets us eat for half the price."  
  
p"Wow. He sounds awful nice."  
  
p"He is. But he can afford it. The food's really good so he knows his restaurant won't be closed down."  
  
p"Well, let's go," Sun cried. "I'm starving."  
  
pRedd led the way back to Greenwich Village from Manhattan. It was a little bit of a journey but Redd spent the time telling Sun a little about the city. He told her of the newspaper giants, William Randolph Hearst and Joseph Pulitizer. He explained about the first newsie lodging house that was founded on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. pSurprisingly, Sun stayed quiet during the whole walk over. She just took in everything that Redd was telling her. Before long, they had arrived at the restaurant in Greenwich.  
  
pRedd showed Sun to a table near the kitchen. When they reached the table, he pulled out a seat for her to sit down in.  
  
p"My, my. A gentleman," Sun said with a smile.  
  
p"My mother taught me a few things before she died. Sorry we have to sit near the kitchen. We promise Mr. Francisco that us newsies would sit away from the front. That way, the full paying customers get the best view."  
  
p"It's no problem. So tell me something about yourself that you haven't told me yet."  
  
p"I guess I can explain my mother. She died when I was six. There was a fire at her work, the Upper Manhattan Clothing Factory. I don't miss her that much. I was never old enough to really understand that she wasn't coming back again and when I did get old enough, I had pretty much forgotten what she was like. Anyway, Pru became like a mother to me. I remember her a lot more than I remember my real mother," Redd paused.  
  
pSun jumped in. "I guess that gives us something in common. We've both lost our mothers to a fire. And we both have no other family members." Sun stopped talking for a moment to think about something. "I guess you could be my family now. That's if you want to. You're the closest thing to it already."  
  
p"I kinda already consider you a part of my family. I guess us tragic souls have to stick together."  
  
p"So, how'd you come to be a newsie in Greenwich?"  
  
p"When Pru died, I was devastated. I didn't know what to do. I was only nine when she died. So, I really didn't know how to support myself. I didn't know you had to pay rent if you wanted to live somewhere. The landlord gave me a break for a week but then he was forced to kick me out. Everyone needs to make a living, ya know?"  
  
p"So you went to the lodging house?" Sun asked.  
  
p"Actually, no. At that time, I didn't know the lodging house existed. You know, it really didn't exist. Doc hadn't formed it until a few years later."  
  
p"So what did you do?"  
  
p"I did the only thing I could do. I lived on the street making my living as a newsie. Believe it or not, over half the newsies who work in New York don't live in a lodging house. Some live with their parents if they still have them. A lot live on the street."  
  
p"You used the money you made as a newsie to feed yourself, so why didn't you use it to get a place to stay?"  
  
p"How much do you think a newsie makes?" Redd asked. "Definitely not enough to get a decent place to stay. Lucky enough, I didn't have to spend that long on the streets before I had a place to go."  
  
pSun and Redd carried on a conversation steadily throughout their dinner. Before either one realized it, it was way past midnight. Redd told Sun that they'd better get home and go to bed soon if they planned on making any money at all the next day.  
  
pWhen they reached their bunks in the lodging house bunkroom, Sun gave Redd a little hug.  
  
p"Thank you so much for all you've done for me. I don't know where I would be right now if I hadn't run into you," she said.  
  
p"No problem," Redd replied. "Now get some sleep. We have another big day tomorrow."  
  
pp align=center~*~  
  
pFrom that day forward, Sun and Redd were inseparable. Where one sold their papers, the other was within a block of the first. They ate lunch together, finding a unique place just for them to eat lunch. They walked to the paper distribution center to get their papers. Sun was up to selling at least a hundred a day.  
  
pBefore long, Sun wasn't considered the new kid in the house anymore. She fit right in and no one took much notice of her except for Redd.  
  
pA few months after she had first meet Redd and learned to sell papers in Greenwich, she told Redd that she was planning on leaving.  
  
p"No," Redd said determined not to believe her. "There is no way you're leaving me in Greenwich all alone."  
  
p"You're not alone. You have all the newsies here who were your friends way before I was in the picture. You'll be fine without me. Most of your life was spent without me."  
  
p" 'Yana, you're my best friend and you know it. You can't leave me here. Why do you want to leave anyway? Is there something else out there for you?"  
  
p"That's what I want to find. If there is something out there for me… If Greenwich Village is really where I'm supposed to be… If I'm going to spend my life being a newsie. There's so many things I don't know. I need to get some answers, Redd, before I can settle down with you or with anyone else. Please, try to understand."  
  
p"All I understand is that my best friend in the whole world doesn't care enough about me to try to settle down near me." Redd turned away from Sun.  
  
pSun reached out to grab his arm. "Come on. I'm not planning on disappearing completely. I'll be in touch when I can. It's not like your address will be changing any time soon. Come on, Redd. You're my rock. I trust you. When I'm out there all alone and I can't find anywhere to go, I want to know that I have somewhere to return to. If it doesn't work out, I need to know you'll still be in Greenwich ready to help me become a part of this lodging house again."  
  
p"Of course I'll be in Greenwich. I have nowhere else to go. Unlike you, I know where I belong. Right here. The only problem is I also belong at your side. So that means if my place is here in Greenwich and by your side, that means your place is in Greenwich too."  
  
p"But I don't feel it in my heart. I don't feel like I belong here. I have to go, Redd, whether you like it or not." Sun smiled at her best friend. "And I was hoping you'd support me in my adventures."  
  
p"Of course, I will. I don't like it but I'll be there for you. You were right. There will always be a place for you in Greenwich right here with me."  
  
p"Thanks, Redd. I'm all packed. Last night was really my last night in the lodging house, for now at least. I'm leaving in a few minutes. I know it's sudden but I knew if you had any word of it ahead of time you would have figured out a way to stop me."  
  
p"True," Redd admitted. "Have fun out there, my 'Yana. I'll be here waiting."  
  
p"Goodbye, Redd. I promise to write." Sun took her small suitcase out from underneath her bed and walked out of the room.  
  
p"You'll be back, Illyana Keller," Redd whispered to the door she just walked through. "Because you belong with me. My mother always talked about how there was only one person for everyone in the world. She said when you find them, you just know. Well, I know that since you walked into my life, there's been no other. And there will be no other until you tell me that you're leaving me forever. You're my one person. Little do you know you're not searching for your place in life. You're searching for your one. I just hope your search brings you back to me." Redd sighed and laid down in his bed. It would be a long time before he would hear from Sun. But the important thing is he would hear from Sun.  
  
p***If you wish to find out what happened to Redd and Sun, please read my first story with them "Finding the One".*** 


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